rumor about him — even though a recent poll showed nearly 20 percent of
Americans erroneously believe he is Muslim.
“The facts are the facts, right?” Obama told
where he was marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. “There
is a mechanism, a network of misinformation that in a new-media era can
get churned out there constantly.
“We dealt with this when I was first running for the
We dealt with it when we were first running for the presidency. … I
will always put my money on the American people. And I’m not gonna be
worrying too much about whatever rumors are floating on out there.”
A poll released by the nonpartisan
Obama also defended his comments on a proposed Islamic community center two blocks from the
“I was not endorsing any particular project. I was endorsing our Constitution. And what is right,” he told
“The media, I think, anticipating that this was going to be a firestorm
politically, seemed to think that somehow there was inconsistency, and
there wasn’t.”
Citing the Constitution’s freedom of religion, Obama has said that the Muslim group has the right to build the center. So has
The proposed center has drawn criticism from politicians including former
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(c) 2010, Tribune Co.
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